YAGunT:Mosin-Nagant advice?

HybridSquirrel

Diamond Member
Nov 20, 2005
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Big 5 advertised they had one for $99 dollars + tax. any advice on buying one? I was thinking about buying a Marlin 795 until I saw the mosin for sale.
 
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Born2bwire

Diamond Member
Oct 28, 2005
9,840
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Fun plinkers. They'll come in a variety of conditions but most of them should be in fairly good condition in both the bore, bluing and furniture. Personally I prefer a Mauser as I find the straight bolt and Mosin action to be a bit cumbersome and sticky. But the Mosin has the advantage of better deals on milsurp ammo these days I think.
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
Fun plinkers. They'll come in a variety of conditions but most of them should be in fairly good condition in both the bore, bluing and furniture. Personally I prefer a Mauser as I find the straight bolt and Mosin action to be a bit cumbersome and sticky. But the Mosin has the advantage of better deals on milsurp ammo these days I think.

MN is definitely generally cheaper than a Mauser, even one the less desirable versions. You're pretty much going to have to order all ammo online unless you go to gun shows. 7.62x54R isn't commonly stocked in most places that I've seen.

I have a 91/30 hex receiver I got like a year or 2 ago. Shot it a few times and it's pretty decent. Got a lot of recoil to it though.

check out http://7.62x54r.net/
 

PliotronX

Diamond Member
Oct 17, 1999
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I'm a SMLE fan m'self but everyone should own a Mosin. Snatch one up before supplies dwindle from imports which admittedly might never happen but still. Do it.
 
Jun 26, 2007
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Fun plinkers. They'll come in a variety of conditions but most of them should be in fairly good condition in both the bore, bluing and furniture. Personally I prefer a Mauser as I find the straight bolt and Mosin action to be a bit cumbersome and sticky. But the Mosin has the advantage of better deals on milsurp ammo these days I think.

Yeah, get the furniture version, it's like a couch with a barrel!

7.62x51 NATO isn't what i'd call a plinker. Any M4 or M16 or any other version of it is more of a plinker than that.

That said, i prefer the Mauser for reliability, though tid youa re not into the "furniture" look then don't be afraid to shop around.

You can find a good Dragunov for fairly cheap if you are willing to spend time and import it.

To me, these are useless for hunting, ridiculous relieablilty compared to modern rifles chambered in either the same or other bores.

My suggesting would be that if you are going to use it, save up for a dragunov.
 

HybridSquirrel

Diamond Member
Nov 20, 2005
6,161
2
81
Yeah, get the furniture version, it's like a couch with a barrel!

7.62x51 NATO isn't what i'd call a plinker. Any M4 or M16 or any other version of it is more of a plinker than that.

That said, i prefer the Mauser for reliability, though tid youa re not into the "furniture" look then don't be afraid to shop around.

You can find a good Dragunov for fairly cheap if you are willing to spend time and import it.

To me, these are useless for hunting, ridiculous relieablilty compared to modern rifles chambered in either the same or other bores.

My suggesting would be that if you are going to use it, save up for a dragunov.

pprobably just going to use it for some plinking/collecting ive looked at drags, but for the price of a drag you can get a wasr 10/63...which i might buy anyway...
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
Yeah, get the furniture version, it's like a couch with a barrel!

7.62x51 NATO isn't what i'd call a plinker. Any M4 or M16 or any other version of it is more of a plinker than that.

That said, i prefer the Mauser for reliability, though tid youa re not into the "furniture" look then don't be afraid to shop around.

You can find a good Dragunov for fairly cheap if you are willing to spend time and import it.

To me, these are useless for hunting, ridiculous relieablilty compared to modern rifles chambered in either the same or other bores.

My suggesting would be that if you are going to use it, save up for a dragunov.

I don't think I've ever seen a Mosin use anything but 7.62x54R
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
I'm a SMLE fan m'self but everyone should own a Mosin. Snatch one up before supplies dwindle from imports which admittedly might never happen but still. Do it.

Problem is, an Enfield is going to cost about 2-3x+ what a Mosin costs.
 

deadlyapp

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2004
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I don't think I've ever seen a Mosin use anything but 7.62x54R

JoS is talking out his ass.

Mosin uses 7.62x54R in virtually ALL versions. Ammo is going to run you around 100 / 440rds through most online dealers. I've seen as low as 75/440 through gun shows. This makes it a relatively cheap and fun gun.

Very easy to break down, takes only a flathead screwdriver and a few minutes to pull apart.

can be modified by a competent smith and tapped for a scope mount. This allows you to throw a cheap scope on rather than relying on the iron sights.

Internal 5 round magazines, you can buy stripper clips to charge them easier but it's really not too difficult to just press them in.

Relatively accurate, and with not terrible recoil. Makes a huge flash that is sure to amaze people especially when its darker out.

I'm of the belief everyone should own a mosin.

Regarding reliability, there's not really anything that can go wrong or have to be replaced on it. it is difficult to open the bolt after firing sometimes. You'll see people mentioning keeping a dead blow mallet with their gun. It just takes a firm hit to break it loose on mine.
 

deadlyapp

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2004
6,627
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I've seen an enfield in a lgs for $175. It was missing some stuff, but it was gone in less than an hour of it being put on the floor.

You can find enfields about the 200 range not too difficultly. Classicarms has MK1's for 240 rinow. Problem is its going to cost you close to 150 for 300 rds of .303
 

HybridSquirrel

Diamond Member
Nov 20, 2005
6,161
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well i think you all talked me into it. i will go check it out at big 5 tomorrow. to take the bolt out i pull it to the rear, pull the trigger and pull it straight out correct? hopefully they will let me visually inspect the bore....if i dont see any rifling in the bore, should i still buy it? i understand dirty is ok, because it can be cleaned...but no rifling is a no no. (what i gathered from box o truth)
 

deadlyapp

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2004
6,627
721
126
well i think you all talked me into it. i will go check it out at big 5 tomorrow. to take the bolt out i pull it to the rear, pull the trigger and pull it straight out correct? hopefully they will let me visually inspect the bore....if i dont see any rifling in the bore, should i still buy it? i understand dirty is ok, because it can be cleaned...but no rifling is a no no. (what i gathered from box o truth)

Yes, pull straight back on the bolt while pulling the trigger. it should slide right out.

Try shining a light from one end of the bore and looking through the muzzle end. It won't tell you much, but the rifling should be easily visible. The bore will probably be dark with corrosion, but with some hoppes #9 it will come out after a while.

I don't think it was mentioned yet, but remember that nearly all ammo you shoot will be milsurp and corrosive, so you will need to clean the gun almost immediately after shooting in order to preserve the bore.
 

Analog

Lifer
Jan 7, 2002
12,755
3
0
I bought a Polish 1954, unissued still in cosmoline about 10 years ago. Still haven't done anything with it, not sure when I'll bring it out of its cocoon. Its quite pretty with a blond stock.

edit: Forgot that I once had a 1917 Westinghouse that was restocked by the Finns. Bought it for like $70 about the same time as the Polish. I did shoot that one, then got rid of it. Wish I would have kept it.
 

sourceninja

Diamond Member
Mar 8, 2005
8,805
65
91
I just bought a 1930's Tula MN. It was in near perfect shape. Only bitch was getting all that cosmoline off of it. Ran me 75.00 + 10.00 for a 100 rounds of ammo.
 

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
8,458
1,080
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i have a mosin. pretty neat guns, i got the solvent bottle, the cleaning kit, a bayont and the sling all from a mosin but who knows it if is from this paticular gun. paid about $120 with some ammo.
 

clamum

Lifer
Feb 13, 2003
26,252
403
126
I'd love to pick one of these up. They did have one in the local (small) gun shop but I haven't been in there in months.
 

Born2bwire

Diamond Member
Oct 28, 2005
9,840
6
71
Problem is, an Enfield is going to cost about 2-3x+ what a Mosin costs.

Yeah, but Enfields are still pretty cheap. However, I do not think you can as easily get as good looking an Enfield as you can with the Mosins. Plus, as mentioned before, the milsurp .303 has dried up. The last I saw was the South African stuff a few years back and I haven't seen anything else since (but I haven't been looking the past two years or so). I think that an Enfield feels slightly less wieldy compared to the Mosins, Mausers and Springfields. The rimmed cartridge is annoying too and since the shell is not tapered like the rimmed 7.62x54R that the Mosin uses it is more finicky about being loaded correctly. But the Enfield action is slick as butter and short to boot.

The Mausers and the Springfields are the best in my opinion though they have a long bolt pull (though the Yugo M48's have a shorter bolt length). The bolts are also the best too because of the better safety features and bent bolt. The Yugo M48's, though not real German Mausers or K98's, look fantastic because they all pretty much got mothballed. The one I had had a pristine barrel but I still liked my K98k's for their history. But none of my K98k's were as in good of condition. I had a Yugo refurbished K98k that was just about as good but I prefered a Russian Capture one that had escaped the shellac and paint. It still had its Waffenmarks but the bluing was worn and the barrel had a small gouge.

Thing about the Mosins is that there are a variety of models and conditions out there. Most of what you will find will still be pretty good condition since a lot of it is still straight from the old Eastern Europe armories but I've seen plenty of beaters floating around. The accuracy is decent but I have heard (though I've never put it to the test) that the Finnish M39 variants are pretty accurate. The carbines are fun but definitely are not as accurate due to the shorter barrels. I have me a carbine but I can't remember the variant.

Seeing as you can inspect the rifle, I would hold out for one in very good condition. There are a lot out there that look like they just rolled off the assembly lines that can be had for around $100 last I checked. Plus the ammo is still in production so milsurp supplies should be good for years to come.
 

JJ650

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
1,959
0
76
MN is definitely generally cheaper than a Mauser, even one the less desirable versions. You're pretty much going to have to order all ammo online unless you go to gun shows. 7.62x54R isn't commonly stocked in most places that I've seen.

I have a 91/30 hex receiver I got like a year or 2 ago. Shot it a few times and it's pretty decent. Got a lot of recoil to it though.

check out http://7.62x54r.net/

I just picked up one of the 91/30 hex this past weekend. It'sin great condition, but I haven't had a chance to go out to shoot it yet. The head space was good and the bore was nice and bright.
About 2 tables down from the gun was a box of 400 milsurp for $65

I have a mauser as well and I am itching to test this MN out to have my own comparison.